Team History
The future Engineers from Olathe Northwest High School, located in Olathe, Kansas, are creating a new image for Engineers! Through their affiliation with organizations such as FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) they have stepped out of the stereotypical image of Engineers. FIRST was founded by Dean Kamen in 1989 with the goal to inspire students to enjoy and pursue science, math, and technology with gracious professionalism and leadership. FIRST heavily relies upon volunteer mentors to keep the program alive. They currently have over 25,000 volunteers and because of their help, they are able to reach 70,000 students a year. The FIRST program is rapidly growing in Canada and the United States, and is spreading throughout the world.
The team was founded in 2006 when Olathe Northwest High School Aerospace & Engineering instructor Mrs. Susan Rippe approached Electronic Communications instructor Mr. Matt Breitkreutz with an exciting idea. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation had just announced that they were bringing FIRST to Kansas City by funding the creation of over 20 teams in the KC Metro. They dangled a three year grant totaling eighteen thousand dollars to start up, and for us it worked….we were hooked! After applying for and receiving the funding, Mrs. Rippe created the idea that became the Ravonics Revolution: bring Aerospace & Engineering and Electronic Communications students together to form a team with wide ranging specialties. Once officially announced, Team 1710 quickly attracted a group of students dedicated to trades such as mechanical design, graphic design, CAD, 3D animation, C-based programming, web development, and more.The Milwaukee Regional in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was Team 1710’s first competition and they walked away with the Judges’ award! This award was given to the team based upon their business plan, pit design, integration of the two 21st Century programs (Aerospace and Engineering and Electronic Communications), organization, and for having a strictly student run team. The competition ended with an additional recognition, Safety Star of the Day for March 17, 2006-the Safety Star of the day was achieved by the entire team's effective safety skills and was a contributing factor in the Judges’ Award win. Team 1710 had a truly extraordinary second year in 2007. They attended the highly competitive Midwest Regional located in Chicago, Illinois, knowing they would be competing against
many successful and more seasoned FIRST teams. Team 1710 built upon their previous year’s experience and created a robot that effectively accomplished the goal of hanging inner-tubes like a pro, and won the 2007 Midwest Regional Champion trophy, and were invited to the FIRST Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.They weren't quite done with Chicago though – on March 15th they took home the Safety Star of the Day, Underwriters Laboratory Industrial Safety Award, and the Best Website Award.
During their first trip to Atlanta for the FIRST Championships, they earned recognition for the lighting effect through their Autodesk Visualization Animation. The 2007 season competition and victories created an appetite and determination to return to Atlanta as soon as possible!
The Ravonics Revolution started off the 2008 season strong in the FIRST Robotics Competition. Through the increased dedication, community support, and fundraisers, the team was able to raise enough funds to compete in two regional competitions. They competed at the Kansas City Regional for the first time, bringing home the Chrysler Team Spirit Award, AutoDesk Visualization, and Best Website Award.
Next, they were off to Denver, where they finally arrived after an unexpected four-hour rest stop on the way (the bus broke down halfway and they spent most of the afternoon at a rest stop - on the bright side, it was a nice day to play Frisbee and of course, update their website using their wifi). They victoriously drove home with the Team Spirit Award, a Website Excellence Award, Safety Star of the Day, and the much sought-after United Laboratories Safety Award.
Always striving for more, Team 1710 started off the 2009 season with the lofty goal of attending two regional competitions, Greater Kansas City and Lone Star in Houston, Texas. However, financial setbacks resulting from the economic recession prevented them from making the deadline for the Houston competition. However, that did not stop them from having a stellar performance at Kansas City!
The greatest joy came near the end of the awards ceremony. Our team founder, coach, and long time mentor, Mrs. Susan Rippe, was presented the well earned Woodie Flowers Award for her dedication to FIRST and Team 1710. A day later the judges described a team that provided a good example for others to emulate, with a strong business plan and team organization, superb community outreach and service, and a generally well-rounded program. Team 1710 jumped and screamed with utter delight as the judges announced their win of the prestigious Regional Chairman’s Award, and qualification for the FIRST Championship in Atlanta. They were going back!
As the fifth year begins one can feel the energy and excitement as Team 1710 embarks on another exciting adventure…..look out world, here come the future engineers!
